No shots after midnight: new bans on Sydney alcohol service

Pubs, clubs and bars across central Sydney will be hit with a fresh crackdown on alcohol service from mid-July, including a ban on shots, doubles and pre-mixed drinks after midnight in a bid to prevent alcohol-fuelled violence.

Customers will also be prevented from buying more than four drinks at a time after midnight and more than two drinks per person after 2am to prevent "stockpiling" before the 3am curfew on alcohol service.

Down with down-downs: new laws will further limit the sale of alcohol in Sydney. Photo: Paul Rovere

Anyone wearing bikie gang "colours" will be banned from all venues within the "CBD entertainment precinct" area defined by the government earlier this year.

A ban on serving drinks in glass after midnight will be imposed on venues "with a history of violence", while so-called "party boats" will be banned from picking up or dropping off customers in the CBD after midnight.

Venues will also be restricted from promoting "high risk drinks", such as discounted alcohol designed to be consumed quickly, while anyone seen consuming alcohol "on approach to a venue" must be refused entry.

The measures - which will be in force from July 18 - are in large part an extension of bans and restrictions put in place in Kings Cross following the fatal assault on teenager Thomas Kelly in 2012.

Advertisement

Hospitality Minister Troy Grant said the new rules would complement existing licensing restrictions, such as 1.30am lockouts and 3am last drinks introduced earlier this year.

Mr Grant said the measures were "a call to arms" by the community.

"We've got a clear message for those buffoons who bring a bad image and name to our city and behave appalling to lead to violence: enough is enough. We're not going to cop it any more."

Police Minister Stuart Ayres said the announcement was "a very positive step forward for Sydney".

Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Murdoch said any suggestion that the licensing restrictions were turning NSW into a nanny state was "absolute rubbish".

"Whether you are living in Mount Druitt, Victoria or Los Angeles, you can come to Sydney on holidays or to enjoy yourself and know you'll be safe. That is the point we really should be pressing."

In other new measures, security guards and all staff serving alcohol must hold Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) competency cards from October.

Also from October, RSA marshals must be employed during "high risk" periods in venues deemed to have a history of violence.

Restaurants and "tourist accommodation establishments" will be exempt from the new rules.

John Green, director of policing with the NSW branch of the Australian Hotels Association, criticised the new rules, arguing they were being imposed on venues "regardless of whether or not they have had any issues with alcohol-related violence in the past".

"Venues are already working closely with police and the community on targeting those thugs doing the wrong thing – that's why assault levels in and around licensed premises are at their lowest levels since the 1990s," Mr Green said.

“When is enough enough? All businesses need certainty, but unfortunately every other month new restrictions are being imposed on licensed premises which have no record of violence."

He called for the effectiveness of the new measures and their impact on businesses to be assessed "sooner rather than later".